With five minutes left in the third, Nikita Kucherov fired the puck from the half wall and a gratuitous bounce off Brandon Hagel netted the Tampa Bay Lighting the game’s winning goal.
Hagel’s sixth goal of the playoffs came at crucial juncture, lifting the Lightning to a pivotal Game 4 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sunday.
Montreal started ahead as Zachary Bolduc and Cole Caufield each found the back of the net in the second period to give the Canadiens a 2-0 advantage.
But Jake Guentzel chipped away by burying a beautiful feed from Janis Moser in the final minute of the frame.
Brandon Hagel scored a power-play equalizer early in the third and later gave the Lightning a lead they wouldn’t relinquish with his deflection. Kucherov tallied assists on both of Hagel’s goals.